Merry Christmas to Residents from Hailsham Youth Service

Hailsham Youth Service would like to extend compliments of the festive season to residents and wish them a very happy and healthy Christmas.

Andy Joyes, Youth Service Manager at Hailsham Town Council said: “We really hope everyone is well and looking forward to Christmas – a time of being together with friends and family, and one to remember that whatever this past year has brought us, there is always hope that next year will be better.

It’s been another very busy year for the Service, especially due to the relocation of our main hub of operations to The Station Youth Centre in Western Road, just part of an exciting new chapter for Hailsham Youth Service.

The ground-level main hall at The Station, housing ‘The Underground’, has been transformed into a lounge-style space for young people and sessions will be free to enter. Various activities are on offer and facilities include comfortable seating areas, pool tables, air hockey, table tennis, table football, board games, Nintendo Switch and X-Box.

Celebrating 25 years of effective operation next year, we’ve grown from one operational base into an expanded service which operates at various locations throughout the town and have had an impact on the lives of thousands of young people in the process.

Hailsham Youth Service has in the past year fulfilled its aims to provide activities – which are both leisure and issue based – and meet the multitude of needs that the young people put forward us on a regular basis.

It has been a pleasure to work with my colleagues and fellow youth workers – their positive attitude and obvious enjoyment in working with young people has ensured that Hailsham Youth Service has gone from strength to strength.

We have had great support from the Town Council, local businesses and the community over the past year who have backed us all the way, in particular relating to the acquisition of new premises for Hailsham Youth Service. The various projects we have undertaken in partnership with other organisations, including Hailsham Community College, Freedom Leisure, Knockhatch, the Safer Wealden Partnership, Children’s Service 0-19s and Sussex Police have been particularly enjoyable too. Thanks must also go to local businesses who helped us with donations and sponsorship.

Young people have been happy with the wide range of activities organised by our team, especially in recent months with our busy autumn and pre-Christmas programme, many of which were keenly anticipated. We want our activities to be productive and fun for young people and I know that those who take part in them – and those who attend our centres – enjoy them tremendously.

I hope that young people will continue to enjoy everything Hailsham Youth Service has to offer in 2025 – we have a full and varied programme of activities scheduled! On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I wish young people, parents, families and everyone else from Hailsham and surrounding areas a pleasant Christmas break.”

The Mayor of Hailsham, Councillor Paul Holbrook, commends Hailsham Youth Service for providing young people with ample activities in a safe environment to help keep them occupied when not at school, and for the dedication and enthusiasm of the Town Council’s youth workers over the past year:

“Parents can be confident that Hailsham Youth Service-run centres provide a safe environment for our local young people, giving them a place to socialise and take part in various activities after school and on weekday evenings.

For a quarter of a century now, the Service has improved the quality of life for local young people in the town and surrounding rural villages. Such benefits have been achieved through the integrated provision of recreation, opportunities for personal and social development, information and advice.

It has been a pleasure to work with Youth Service Manager Andy Joyes and his team during my long tenure as a town councillor and as Town Mayor.  I wish the youth service team a very happy Christmas and look forward to working with you all again in the New Year.”

Hailsham Youth Service can be contacted during the Christmas break via their website (hailshamyouthservice.org), Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HailshamYouthService/) and Instagram account (www.instagram.com/hailshamyouth/).